Welcome To Travis County
by Jayme F. Midorikawa
Summary: A very creepy Elfen Lied and Texas Chainsaw Massacre crossover Rating may go up for language and tons of gore. R&R please
1. Chapter 1

Welcome To Travis County

**Hi, everybody. This is my very first Elfen Lied fic that I'll follow through with. This is also my very first Texas Chainsaw Massacre fic. I hope you'll enjoy this a lot. I'm basically modeling this after the movie from the 70's. Read and review please.**

A massive heat wave had rained over the country of Japan. Beaches were overcrowded with people, and the hustle and bustle of the city was too much to handle for three months. At a small inn on the outskirts of Tokyo, some people knew this as the Kaede Inn, five peop-le were hustling and bustling, mainly with packing and a whole ton of yelling.

These people were a college aged young man named Kouta, his cousin, Yuka, whose parents had given Kouta this inn as a home of his own, a young girl with raven black hair named Mayu, who had begun living with them after Yuka and Kouta insisted that she stay with them, almost like foster parents. They were definitely better than her mother and bastard stepfather who ruined her life. The two other residents were a young pink haired girl named Nana, who had become a new resident of the inn, as well as a worker, and was best friends with Mayu. The last, was an 18 year old redheaded girl named Lucy. Now, Nana and Lucy had an amazing quality almost no human had. They were of a mutated race called _diclonius,_ who were basically human, except for the fact that they had small horns on their heads. These gave them control over invisible, and incredibly deadly arms known as vectors.

Lucy had started off as a sadistic, human killer, but over years and an emotional reunion, she had begun falling in love with Kouta, which is why she hated Yuka to the point of wanting to decapitate her in her sleep, but there was another thing. From a bullet to her head, Lucy had a different personality, due to physical contact. This was a sweeter, but not as intelligent version called Nyuu. All she could say was that word most of the time, and she had the innocence, and IQ of at least a 5 year old. 2 years old at the least.

Lucy had a habit of changing into Nyuu either when she slept, or when she was treated with care and love, and Nyuu would change into Lucy whenever she came into physical contact with her head.

But past the introductions. This was a very hectic day for all these people. A few weeks back, Kouta had earned free airplane tickets for five to anywhere in the world they wanted to go. After several day of serious discussion, they finally decided to see the United States Of America. Yuka had never been to the U.S., so she was naturally excited to see it, Mayu pretty much had the same reason. Nana wanted to see more of the world, so she wanted to see what America was. Nyuu had no idea what they were really saying, but if Kouta was going, she wanted to go there too.

And today was the day their flight was going to go. "Ok, does everybody have their baggage together?" Kouta asked in a rush as they all ran down the front steps and crowded for the airport bus parked in front of the inn. After a quick checkup of all their supplies, a relieving 'yes' came from everybody as they all crowded into the back.

One fifteen minute ride later, they were practically racing for the ticket booth for their plane. The heat was so unbearable, that if they missed this flight, they would make a raft and sail to the states, if it meant they could leave the country for a while. The crowd was so congested and so thick, that in order to keep moving, Nana was forced to use her vectors to push people to the side, luckily, everybody was so crowded close together, they didn't even notice.

To their relief, they came to a stop at the booth just in time. "Um, five for the flight to the U.S., please." Kouta panted out of breath as they all held out their tickets. They didn't even wait for the man to tell them to go ahead, when they were already running down the tunnel. To their surprise, the plane wasn't as full as they thought it would be. "Strange. Usually a lot of people go to America, right?" Yuka asked herself as they all crowded into their assigned seats. "Not really. A lot of political problems and government flaws are driving people away recently." Mayu addressed the older girl. "Wow. Since when did you become an international afair know-it-all?" she asked obnoxiously. "I didn't. It says so here in this brocheur I found under my seat." the little girl addressed as she held out the folded slip to Yuka. She simply frowned and remained silent for the rest of the trip.

**7 hours later**

Everyone looked in mesmerization as LAX came into view, the glittering lights of the faroff Los Angeles skyline shining over the horizon, illuminating the night sky. Within minutes, their plane finally came to a stop, and they all shuffled single file out of the plane and were soon finally in not-so-cramped quarters. "Ok. We have a reserved ride waiting for us out front to take us to our hotel room. In the morning, we'll start our official trip around America." Kouta announced to his friends and cousin as they grabbed their things off the conveyor belt (Nyuu noticing Kouta forgot one, and everything nearly developed into a tug-of-war fight with the machine at the other end of the belt as Nyuu was trying to yank it back out.)

They were soon out the front entrance and Yuka was the first to notice a man in black next to a real-life limousine, holding a white tablet with all their names written on it. "That's our ride." Kouta announced as they all greeted the mand and filed inside. By five minutes, they were off on the road. "This is so exciting. I've never been anywhere outside of Japan before." Yuka whispered excitedly as she tried to capture every detail flying past their windows. It would have been a hell of a lot easier if she remembered to get a camera. "Wow. It may be dark, but this place sure is beautiful." Nana mused quietly. "It's nighttime Nana-san. It'll be a lot better looking during the daytime." Mayu told her best friend reassuringly. Nyu could only respond to everybody, including her own, excitement with a loud "NYUU"! Yes, everything was going absolutely great for this amazing family of five. America practically greeted them with open arms, and they took the welcome. This was going to be a whole lot of fun, seeing the sights, looking back on the events of their first overseas vacation years from now.

But within five days, that would soon change.

**_5 days later_**

Yuka was calmly looking over all the photos they had taken from California to Nevada to Utah. Everybody was loving the trip so much, they had even debated which photo of themselves was their favorite, and what they would keep. Despite whatever Mayu read, America seemed so great to all of them. Everybodies all time favorite seemed to be when Kouta got just the right angle and took a picture of Mt. Rushmore, with Nyuu's head right next to Abe Lincoln's, making it look like she was a new head on Rushmore. Obviously, she didn't get the joke. Nana either. But the good times were too good to not laugh to.

At this moment, they were on the road just entering Texas. Kouta had described to everyone that Texas was the cowboy and Western capital of the world, bu obviously, hardly anybody understood what this meant. Upon entering Texas, one long stretch of highway was all that they could see. grasslands and steer scattered along the road length, followed by the occasional crossroad and forest, was all that they could see. Despite everything else about America being great to all five of them, there was something about this road, something about the scenery here, that held something of an empty plain, or a depresing atmosphere to all of them. It must have been the empty spaces, or the blurring yellow shine of the sun on the reeds of dying yellow grass.

"Yuka, do you have any idea how many miles we've travelled since we came into Texas?" Kout asked tiredly as the sun began to set underneath behind the flat plains of the grass fields. Yuka yawned tiredly and pulled a map out of the glove compartment. "Um...if I know the American measure system...I think we've travelled at least 217 miles." Kouta was astounded with this. "Wow. All that time, you would think we'd see even a small town by now." he whispered, careful not to wake any of the others. "Well, maybe you got lost on the way. If we find anyone, maybe we should ask them for directions." Yuka whispered naggingly, yet suggestively into his ear. Kouta didn't want to admit it, but his cousin was right. "Ok. But right now, maybe we should just stop off the road tonight. I'm too tired to drive much further. We'll keep going in the morning, alright?" he asked her tiredly as he pulled their rented car off to a stop at the side of the road. "Alright. Good night." she whispered in another yawn as she fell asleep, headfirst onto the glove compartment. Kouta soon followed suit, and once the headlights were off, they were all out like lights. What they had failed to notice, was the watching eyes of an unseen, maniacally grinning figure, hidden underneath the tall grass of the fields. In a heartbeat, the figure was gone, lurking through the gras once more.

**_Elsewhere that night_**

Hidden in the pitch black night, a large, grunting figure was roaming through a small cemetary outside what Texas locals knew as Travis County. Anyone who could possily be nearby, would have heard the scraping sound of a shovel digging, followed by a brief flash, and an eerie whining sound of a camera, a really old camera, rewinding. Whoever was in this cemetary, was not well. What it had was indeed a camera, and what it was taking pictures of, was decaying corpses. Travis County, for years, had been a dead, uninhabited town, so anyone who knew history of backroad Texas, would have wondered what someone would be doing here. Something was not right here, and five very unlucky people, would soon find out just what that was.


	2. The Hitch Hiker

Welcome To Travis County

**Well, I've officially decided to model this fic after the 1974 and 2003 versions of TCM, and I'm even gonna copy some parts from TCM: The Beginning. I hope you'll review this chapter and maybe more. Read and review please.**

Hours of silence were bid an unwanted farewell when the morning sun shined over the horizon of the endless grassfields of back road Texas. The only thing visible on the entire stretch of road, was a solitary van sitting on the side of the road. Five people, one man, and four girls were sleeping like rocks inside when the distant crowing of a rooster signaled it was time to wake up.

Kouta woke up with a grumble when he noticed everybody else was just waking up. He looked all around them and remembered they had yet to find a single town in Texas. "Morning everyone. Did any of you sleep well in here?" Yuka grumbled as she cracked her neck, trying to shield her eyes from the glare of the sun. The others were still too groggy headed to answer, so they could only answer with a nod and a moan. "Well, don't worry everyone. We've got an early start this time. I'll bet we'll find a town before it even becomes noon." Kouta announced to them, trying to sound as optimistic as he could from having just woken up from a lumpy driver seat.

Soon, the roar of the engine broke the morning tranquility, and they were hitting the road once again. "Kouta, I hate to admit it, but maybe we're lost." Mayu finally said from the back when she finally regained herself. "Don't worry, Mayu. We're not lost. Usually when someone's lost, they don't have a map." he said in an "in-your-face' tone as he waved the map in his hand.

Yuka simply sighed in frustration. Kouta never really was good with directions anyway. "Kouta, what is that thing with all the buttons between you and Yuka?" Nana asked curiously as she poked her head out from between them and pointed at the radio. "It's a radio Nana. It allows people to listen to different things when on endless trips like this." Yuka informed the pink haired diclonius, saying the last part with a nagging glare toward Kouta. "For the last time, we're not lost. Now if you would just let me keep following this road, we'll probably come across a local to give us a shortcut, or directions or something." Kouta said defensively as he kept his eyes on the endless stretch of road ahead of them.

Soon, 15 to twenty five minutes had passed, and as usual no sign of life anywhere. Everybody had gotten so used to the silence, that they had all nearly jumped (Nana even clutched onto Mayu) when they heard a growling sound coming from the back. "Nyuu." Nyuu moaned, rubbing her stomach in agony. "Well...it's about time hunger started settling in." Kouta thought to himself as he began to speed up further. Unfortunatley, a majority of the food they had had been spent six days ago. "If we find a town, we'll all stop and eat, ok?" Yuka said quietly to the others, a roar of satisfaction coming as a response.

As further, without any sign of life on either sides or ahead or behind them, the silence was beginning to spark the road trip version of cabin fever. "Kouta, can we turn on the radio?" Mayu asked in a moan as she nearly collapsed to the floor from the afternoon heat. It was almost worse than how Japan was right now. "alright. I'm sure some music would do us some mental good." Yuka agreed as she flicked it on and turned a nob to a station. Nothing. Several static noises started crackling from the radio, and just like that, suddenly what sounded like a news station came on clear as glass.

"Our breaking news story today, a disturbing sight had been sighted by Texas lawmen in a small cemetary, outside the small town of Travis County earlier this morning. Details of what they had seen, are as described as a grisly work of art. Details have shown that several, almost a dozen, old graves had been dug out, and partially decomposed corpses have been found missing from their burial places. What remaining bodies were not missing, had been found tied together, on top of a memorial tombstone, tied to each other by barbed wire. Some of the bodies had extensions, or limbs, such as arms and legs, and in some cases, even the head, missing. Some of the bodies were found to be no more than a torso. At the foot of the grisly sight, were what appeared to be partially devoured or chewed human bones. Upon further inspection, it had been revealed that the bodies together seemed to form some disturbing form of a cross, complete with the oldest body tied to the form, possibly resembling Jesus Christ. At the bottom of the tombstone the bodies were tied to, forensic investigators found what appeared to be a message scrawled in human blood. It read quote "Jesus Is Dead". Upon an earlier interview with Dallas police chief Herman Wydell, there appear to be no suspects at this time."

Everyone had taken in every word of the disturbing news report they had just heard. Obviously Nana and Nyuu didn't exactly understand, but Mayu was definitely shaken by the idea of what this meant. Graverobbing, and occult messages. Kouta and Yuka were the most freaked out of them all. "Kouta, is Travis County near here?" Yuka asked shakily as she grabbed the map and looked at it. Upon several minutes of inspection, it floated to the floor while she twitched a single eye. "It's not on the map." she said almost in lip sync. "Well, I did hear one time on a history report that in the early 60's, Travis County had gone into a climactic state of poverty. It's a ghost town. Nobody lives there now. I mean, who knows. Maybe there's another Travis County on the border of Texas, and some border patrol cops found that creepy image." Kouta said in a shaky, unsure voice, as if that was really the case. Almost the instant they got the scary report out of their heads, Nyuu nearly squealed in delight and desperation when she pointed out what looked like a small town up ahead.

"God, finally. I thought this road was going to go for the entire state without a single sign of life the whole way." Yuka groaned in released desperation that matched Nyuu's, especially since they were both at the point of looking like starving people. "Well, alright. We'll stop, eat, and I need to get some gas, and then we'll keep going. Normally, towns aren't far apart, so this means there could be more." Kouta informed them all.

Once the car finally stopped, everybody piled out of the door, almost instantly repulsed by the humidity in the air. They all quickly ran inside what looked like a gas station, and they were all immediately relieved by the blast of A/C they encountered upon first entering. However, the interior didn't look or feel as pleasant as the air did. The lights were practically dead, the place looked like it hadn't been cleaned in years, maybe even decades, and there was only one person behind the desk. She was a wrinkled, cranky old woman with filthy greying hair, and she had on what looked like 1950's grandma glasses. She definitely looked old enough to be a grandmother. "Ok, I' going to refill the gas tank. I'll be right back." Kouta told the others when he disappeared behind the front door.

The icy cold glare the old woman was giving them definitely made Mayu and Nana feel uncomfortable. Nyuu didn't really notice, and Yuka was trying her best to be polite to a woman who looked everything but.

"Excuse me ma'am. Do you know if there are any other towns nearby?" the brown haired girl asked the old Texas woman. The woman kept her frown on her face and kept an expression that looked like she hadn't heard a word Yuka said. This definitely was wracking on her nerves. "Well...do you at least know if there are any good motels or inns nearby?" she asked her again.

"Go down the main road for 12 miles. There'll be a small inn on the right of the highway." the old woman croaked as she pointed behind her with a single thumb. "Alright. Thank you." Yuka said as they all four walked out the door. "Kouta, that old woman outside told us where there's an inn we could stay at tonight." Mayu told the older boy excitedly as he started the engine. "Alright. Everybody get in then." he told them all. and just like that, they were going down the nearly dead road again, the old woman keeping her eyes on their van through dusty old blinds in the window.

**12 miles later**

The van stood in the middle of the empty road, everybody watching in confusion and agony, Yuka looking like she had been cheated out of a good deal. There was nothing where the old lady told them where to go. It was empty grass land again. "That old bag lied to us." Yuka growled as she clenched her fists and pounded her hands together. "It's alright, Yuka. Maybe she just miscalculated, and maybe it's a little further up road." Mayu told the older girl calmly. "Nyuu." the redheaded diclonius agreed in her uppity kawaii fashion. Soon, Kouta waited and decided to keep going. He was beginning to get just as tired of all the driving as the others were.

"Kouta, what's that man doing, standing on the side of the road?" Nana asked the older boy as she noticed a young man on the side of the road with his arm outstretched with his thumb up in the air. He had a worn out old brown bag hung over his shoulder. "That's a hitch hiker, Nana. They're people who look for people to let them ride in their car. They usually do it when they're too far from home to walk." Mayu told the pink haired girl as they came closer to him. Nana began to get that pitying look in her eyes again when the man began to run alongside them. "Kouta, could we let him in? He could be suffering in the heat." Nana pleaded. Kouta hesitated, seeing Yuka's disapproving glare, and then he looked at the pink haired girl's watering eyes. Nobody could ignore something that cute. He sighed and hit the brakes. The car quickly came to a stop, and in an instant, the door slid open and the man climbed inside. "Thanks for stopping. I don't think I could handle sleeping outside again." the man thanked them as they began to drive again.

Kouta was trying to keep his eyes on the road, while trying to get a look at the man in the back. He looked a bit like Orlando Bloom, with the brown greasy hair that was done in a crude ponytail. He had a thin mustache, and one of his eyes was constantly twitching. He was wearing torn up jeans and a filthy green t-shirt, and he had a creepy looking smile on his face, and he was constantly panting, and he looked a bit sunburned in the cheeks.

If anybody looked uncomfortable with this guy around, it was Yuka. Nana, Mayu and Nyuu kept their gaze on the stranger as silence hung in the car for a few minutes. Suddenly, the man spoke, sounding almost incredibly eager for something. "Do you folks...y'all like meat?" he asked them all suddenly. What a first question to ask somebody who picks you up when hitch hiking. Everybody looked confused, but Kouta was the first to answer. "Um...yeah. Sometimes, yeah." he answered, sounding really confused. "Aw good. T-that's good. I...I-I work at a meat plant somewhere near here. Got shut down this morning. I-I had no ride." he stuttered, now in a whisper. "Nyuu?" Nyuu asked confusedly.

"Yeah. S-she don't get it. Women..t-they never get it. I...I was at a place where we chop up cows and them little squealin' piggy boys. We...w-we chop em up. Bash 'em in the head. The skull. T-that's where the real good stuff is." the man said in excitement. This guy was creeping these people out fast. "So, uh...do you live near here then?" Nana asked the man curiously, wondering why anyone would live in a desolate, cooking wasteland like this.

The man started nodding his head like he was having a seizure. "Y-yeah. It-it's just me and my brothers. We live a little off the road a few miles up the road. We all work there. They quit a while back. We-we still make our meat though. Yessirree. That we do. Meat...it-it's great." the man stuttered in his creepy whisper again. To their disbelief, Kouta was actually supporting this guys rant about slaughtering animals, with a question. "Stranger, I was curious. I heard this rumor a while back, and...well...you seem to know a lot about meat, so I was curious. Is it true they use a rifle on cows in order to kill them when they don't die of age or fattening?" he asked the hitcher curiously. Nyuu and Nana both gasped at this. Is THAT what meat was? Slaughtered animals? The very thought made both of them turn green.

"Y-yeah. But that gun...that gun don't do no good. It's better to-to get a bat or a pipe. Bash their heads in. Puts 'em out like a light. No poison in the meat either. Real good. Gun ain't doin' no good, sir." he said, like he was talking to himself as he pulled himself into a fetal position. "I take pictures too. Makes a livin'. I do 'em for all my clients and people who give me them rides. look at 'em." he offered as he dug into his bag and pulled out a handful of photos. Yuka was too scared to see what pictures a guy like this would take, but Mayu, Nana and Nyuu gladly took them and looked. To their relief, it looked like normal people, and some of them were posing for the camera even.

"So, what you're saying is, they do use a gun on cows and pigs, but in your opinion, it doesn't do any good?" Kouta asked the man for reassurance. "Y-yeah. It's true. We use knives even. Gut 'em nice and deep, buddy. Y'all should know, thaty's a good clean way of doing it. I-I even got my knife right here. I got a knife." the man whispered as he pulled out what looked like a shaving blade out of a loop in his pants. He unfolded it and started laughing to himself. Nobody had any idea what he was doing, until Mayu nearly wretched and Nana and Nyuu paled in fright. The man was still laughing as he ran the blade along his palm and blood started pouring down from his hand onto the floor. He kept laughing as if nothing happened as he folded the knife again and put it back in it's spot. "Nana, go get some bandages, please!" Mayu whispered urgently to her pink haired friend, but the man quickly pulled her back. "Don't worry, it don't hurt none at all. I'm ok. It's good ya know." he stuttered to them again.

He began to reach for his bag again, and everyone reeled back, afraid of what it was gonna be. To their relief and confusion, he grabbed an old looking camera. "Nyuu?" Nyuu asked confusedly, reaching out to touch it. a bright flash came from the camera, sending Nyuu back in surprise and dazement. The man was still laughing to himself, and soon a slip of waxed paper slid out of a slot in the camera. He pulled it out and began to lightly shake it. "Here. Y'all can keep it." he whispered as Nana took the slip from the man. They all three looked at it, and soon a picture developed of Nyuu reaching her hand to the camera, and her eyes swirling in dazement from the flash.

"He...he took your picture, Nyuu." Mayu told the redheaded girl in surprise. Nyuu looked at it for a few moments, and then she began smiling again, seeing a tiny version of her on it. Yuka and Kouita were surprised too, seeing that this was the first, non-insane thing this guy did since they picked him up. While the three girls were still looking at Nyuu's funny new photo, the man grabbed his knife again and unfolded it. "Y'all can pay up front now." he said as he held out an empty hand. "Excuse me?" Yuka asked in disbelief. "Sorry, sir. But we don't have enough money." Kouta explained to the man.

The man sighed in disappointment, but he didn't look disappointed in the least. To Nyuu's disappointment and protest, he took the photo from her grasp and crumpled it up. To their wonder, the man took out a small pouch of his bag and spread a strange black powder all over the photo. Next thing they knew, he took out a match and lit it and threw it on the black mess. The resulting flashing and popping and sizzling sent all the girls reeling back. It was gunpowder. "Oh my God, quick! Put it out!" Yuka screamed as Mayu grabbed a small blanket off the passenger seat and started pounding it on the burning mess until it was put out. "What in the hell are you thinking?" Yuka shouted to the man, who didn't look hurt or scared at all, but he looked like he was enjoying it.

And almost with the reflex of a snake, the mangrabbed hold of Nyuu's arm and slid the blade along a part of Nyuu's forearm, blood starting to lightly pour from the cut, but the pain making the redhead shriek in pain. Mayu and Nana were already upon the man, and once Kouta heard Nyuu screaming and clutching her arm, he started slowing the van down, and once they were at a safe speed, Yuka quickly slid the door open, and Mayu and Nana shoved the man out of the car and back onto the road. "Hurry, Kouta, drive!" Yuka yelled as he began to pick up speed, the man chasing after them laughing like a madman.

Once they were sure he was too far to catch up, they brought the car to a stop. Kouta climbed back into the back seat and looked at the cut on Nyuu's arm. "Yuka, I think you should drive for now. I'll take care of this." he said calmly as they began to go forward again. Nyuu was at first hesitant to take her hand from her arm, sniffling in pain, but she soon calmed down and let him quickly clean and stitch and bandage it. "Ok. I don't care how bad anyone feels next time. no more hitchikers, ok?" Yuka asked everyone in the back. They all quickly nodded their heads and tried to put this creepy incident behind them.


	3. Stranded

Welcome To Travis County

**Sorry about keeping you guys waiting for SO long. This sounds like a lame excuse, I know, but I've just been really busy, but now that summer vacation is here, I'm back, and with more ideas than ever. Here's the third chapter of my Elfen Lied/ TCM crossover. Please read and review if you want. I don't care if anybody wants to flame me or give me constructive criticism anymore. Go ahead and say anything you want.**

What had once been the endless ocean of dying yellow grass of back-roads Texas had now been replaced with very thick, but dark and dried out forest. The blinding yellow light of the sun was shining through hundreds of tiny holes in the tree branches that hung over the road. Radio reception had died hours past and now the only sound the five traveling friends could hear was the silent hum of the road under their tires. "Kouta, I don't know about you, but we aren't exactly comfortable with sleeping on the road again. I mean, what if that crazy hitchhiker finds us in the middle of the night?" Yuka stated worriedly to her cousin.

Kouta didn't know how to word it, but with a simple nod. He definitely knew where they were coming from. He too was still shaken from that earlier encounter, and Nyuu would definitely remember it, since the bandages around her wrist were starting to turn red again. "Ok. We'll take shifts when nightfall hits. I think we'll have to split it between us two, cause the others are too young to drive." He whispered back to her as the yellow light began to turn into a dull orange. Sunset was on its way. While the two oldest members were talking amongst themselves, Mayu and Nana were whispering amongst themselves while Nyuu was watching the passing outside world with amazement, watching everything go by so fast, with the curiosity of a small child.

"Mayu, do you have any idea where we are?" Nana asked her best friend curiously as Mayu was going over the map frustrated. "Nana, this U.S. road map is very different from the maps I saw back home. I don't know what it even says." She snapped in a frustrated whisper, causing her friend to back away in fright. "I'm sorry. I was just curious." She whispered back, frightened and crying. Mayu just sighed and crawled over to the pink haired Diclonius. "Don't worry. I'm just tense. But we'll be out of here and back to the original trip very soon." She said with a reassurance that seemed unusually mother-like.

Nyuu was continuously turning her head back and forth, trying to see every single tree that was darting past them, but soon, in a brief moment of focus, Nyuu suddenly caught something odd behind the bushes. She saw a large shadowy figure stumbling through the forest, its face hidden from view, but it looked like it was dragging something equally large behind it. Before the sight disappeared from sight, Nyuu could see the figure suddenly throw what it was dragging into a nearby sewer pipe jutting out of a mass of leaves that seemed to be part of a large formation of long dead foliage. Rather than be scared, she just kept looking on curiously as the van suddenly came to a stop. They were now parked at a fork in the road. "Well, so much for following this road through the state." Kouta said in a tired groan.

"Kouta, normally I'd say we flip a coin to see which way we take, but I'm too tired to deal with it, as are we all, and that map can't help us worth a damn, so let's just take the right road and get it over with." Yuka said impatiently as Kouta quickly obliged and they were soon moving again. It wasn't long until Mayu suddenly noticed a car sitting on the side of the road, and better yet, a police car. "Kouta, Yuka, there's a police car over there. We could ask him for directions maybe?" she asked curiously. "Good thinking." Yuka said in agreement as the van soon came to a stop. Kouta climbed out of the drivers seat and approached the solitary vehicle, bathing in the shade of the tree behind it. "Hello? Anybody there?" Kouta shouted into the forest, after noticing the car was empty. "Huh. Maybe the officer's somewhere near here." He whispered to himself as he started to approach the forest, trying to get a good luck for anybody before walking in.

As he began to approach closer, a voice suddenly erupted from behind him. "Can I help you, sir?" Kouta jumped from the breaking of silence and tumbled into a bush at a police officers' feet. He had a gruff, dry looking face upon him and thinning white hair hidden in a ranger's hat, and a dried out, southern voice. He looked a lot like that drill sergeant in that one Vietnam movie Kouta saw when he was a small boy. "Oh, um, sorry officer. You see, my cousin, my friends, and I are trying to know the quickest way out of here and to the next neighboring state. We aren't from around here, but our map doesn't have any clue as to where we are, and we were hoping you could." He said as politely as he could while picking himself up onto his feet. To his surprise, the officer soon grew a smile on his face and gave the flattest, driest laugh he had ever heard. "Well, I'll be happy to help. Ok. You see, if you keep following this road here, for about an hour and a half, you'll soon find yourself in Louisiana. Trust me." The officer said as he slapped Kouta on the back as he began to walk back to their van. "Y'all take care now, y'hear?" the officer yelled after them as they began to drive off. "Thank you!" Mayu shouted back as she leaned out the window.

"Wow. I was half expecting that officer to call you dumb when you said the map didn't say where we were." Yuka said with a laugh. Before Kouta was able to say a comeback, a large roaring sound began to form up behind them. "Nyuu, we know you're hungry, but just hang on for a little bit longer, ok?" Yuka said as she turned to face the three other girls behind them. "Um…that wasn't Nyuu, Yuka. That was them." Nana said as she looked out their rear window and sure enough, there was a huge number of leather-clad motorcyclists roaring past them onto the other side of the road and onto their side, blowing their fumes into their windshield before they disappeared. "Good God, how can people be so rude, especially on the road?" Yuka said in anger as their vision finally came back. "It just shows you how a majority of people are de-evolving or something." Kouta muttered as he continued to drive.

As Mayu, Nyuu and Nana continued to listen to Yuka and Kouta's venting, none of them were able to see what was outside. Obscured by the bushes, the barrel of a sniper rifle was just barely sticking out, as the shadow holding it watched the approaching van. Without so much as a popping sound, the trigger was pulled, and within another split second, a deafening banging sound erupted from one of the tires, sending the van spiraling across the road, followed by five individual screams as the vehicle finally flipped over its own side and into the ditch at the side of the road, the screams ceasing to sound. With a hidden grin, the figure with the rifle slinked back into the darkness as the sounds of quiet nature took over.

_Three hours later…_

"Oh…what happened? Where am I?" a weary voiced Kouta grumbled as his sight finally adjusted itself to find that he was still strapped to his chair and dangling upside down. What had once been evening was now pitch-black darkness. "Uh…everybody? Are you there?" he asked loudly as he struggled at his seatbelt, finally undoing it and causing himself to fall onto what was the roof of the car. He groaned in pain as he felt at the back of his skull, and bringing his hand back to see there was blood on his hand. "Oh Christ." He muttered as he reached into the glove compartment, feeling around in the darkness until he grasped a flashlight, pulling it back and then he began to crawl. Once he was finally out of the broken window, he turned the light on to see they were still in the woods. He looked all over himself to see he got scratched up pretty good by some broken glass, but nothing fatal. He turned around and sighed as he saw the van was completely totaled. He suddenly remembered the others and quickly knelt down and shined the light inside. He was relieved to see they were all still breathing. Nana, Mayu and Yuka were regaining consciousness, but Nyuu was still out of it. "Kouta!? Kouta, what happened!?" Yuka asked in a panic as she took in her surroundings. "Hang on Yuka. I'm coming." He said in response as he crawled back inside and struggled at her seatbelt, causing her to fall as well. He quickly pulled her out, and was soon going to the other side to help Mayu, Nana and Nyuu. Mayu was already pulling Nana out by the time he got there, and he quickly crawled into their window and started to pull Nyuu out. "What the hell happened? How could we have gotten a flat tire?" Yuka shouted in a mix of anger and hysterics when she saw she was bleeding and noticed the tire was blasted. Kouta sighed and gathered everyone together once he got Nyuu seated against the van.

"Guys, I don't know what happened, other than we got a flat tire." He said as he motioned toward said tire. "Now, I don't know how long it's been since it got dark, but we would be safe if we just stay here for the night. When morning comes, we'll try and get a tow truck to take us to the nearest town, alright?" he asked them as he tried to keep everyone calm. Yuka was bleeding from the waist from the overall impact from the crash, Mayu had a rather large cut on her forehead, and Nana was still crying from a large series of cuts covering her bare legs. While everyone else weren't in that critical of a condition, Kouta was really worried about Nyuu. When he looked, she had a large chunk of steel from the door embedded in her side, and even he knew that they would have to get that chunk out or she could very well bleed to death. "Wait, Kouta, I still have my phone with me. We could be able to call a tow station." She said with a ray of hope evident in her voice. But for some reason, Kouta didn't share the excitement. "Yuka, we didn't have a local station address book. We don't know the number to call." He muttered impatiently. Yuka sighed when she pressed a button. "It's just as well. It doesn't work. It's broken." She sighed as she threw the wretched contraption into the ditch. After several minutes of bandaging any open cuts, and collecting themselves, Kouta stood himself up while the others were still gathered around in a huddle.

"I know what I said earlier, but I have to see if there's anybody here who can help us." Kouta stated as he crawled into the van and pulled out another flashlight. "You guys should stay here. It's really dark out, especially without a full moon to give any light, and we don't want to get separated right now, so I don't want you guys to worry, alright?" he asked them calmly as Mayu quickly stood up. "But Kouta, we're stranded out here, and we don't know what's in those woods. Why can't you just stay till daybreak?" she asked him, almost begging even. "Mayu's right. Wouldn't it be better that way? We could go with you then, and we wouldn't get separated." Nana agreed as she tucked her bandaged legs back, trying to keep warm. How it was so hot and was now suddenly too cold was beyond her.

With a sigh, Kouta turned off the light and got back with the others. "Alright. We'll wait until morning, and then we'll move. In the meantime, let's get any blankets out so we don't end up sleeping on broken glass." He muttered with a yawn as they all crawled back inside. Unbeknownst to them, in the bushes right on the other side of the road, opposite of them, a pair of eyes was watching them with a devilish gaze as it disappeared in the shadows, with a deep, animal like grunt with each twig snapping footstep.

**Well, that was chapter 3. I hope you guys are hoping to see more after this, because there will be. Read and review please. And it's great to be back, my friends.**


	4. The House

Welcome To Travis County

**Hello everyone. Sorry for the slight delay. Been thinking about how to continue this story. Anyway, here it is. The fourth chapter of Welcome To ****Travis****County****. I hope you all have enjoyed the story so far, because it's about to get better.**

The sun slowly rose with an array of dim purples and oranges as the Texas countryside was illuminated by yet another dawn. Inside the forest, huddled around an overturned van, Kouta, Yuka, Nana, Mayu and an unconscious Nyuu were huddled together in slumber as a dim yellow illuminated the empty street they laid by. As if the absence of cricket chirpings was the cue, Kouta was the first to drowsily shake himself from his sleep. He looked around wearily and soon remembered where he and the others were, and what had happened. A flat tire, a crash, and a burning pain in his head. Their cuts were taken care of, but they had to find help fast. Kouta quickly shook the others from their sleep, except for Nyuu because she was flat out cold. When the others were able to stand, it was time for action. "Alright everyone. I know we're all hurting from those cuts we got last night, and I know we're all hungry." He said to them trying to sound as calm and authorative as possible. "But we all need to pitch in and try to find somebody to help us." Yuka finished for him. She didn't like the fact that he was trying to recap them on the plan he already came up with the night before, as if they forgot.

"So, first thing we need to think of is how we get Nyuu around." Kouta asked, hoping for some suggestions. "Well, we could use one of the blankets we have as a gurney and carry her. If we just draped her over our shoulders, that could probably hurt her even more." Mayu whispered timidly. "That's a good plan, Mayu. We'll grab the biggest blanket we have and two of us will carry her while the rest lead." Kouta said as he reached into the overturned van and pulled out an old worn wool blanket that looked like it came with the van when it was first made in the 60's. "May not be the cleanest thing in the world, but it doesn't matter." He grumbled as he and Yuka lowered the unconscious crimson haired beauty onto the homemade gurney. "Alright. Mayu, Nana, I'm sorry, but you two will have to carry her. I have to clear the way through those branches so we can move without any delay alright?" he told them as Mayu and Nana surprisingly, lifted up Nyuu without any real strain. "But Kouta, isn't there something I should point out?" Yuka asked as Kouta pulled out a small handheld hatchet from the back of the van. "Ok. What's that Yuka?" he asked politely. "Well, how do we know if there's even any houses for who knows how many miles around here?" Yuka asked him impatiently as he held his hands up in defense. "Well, I'm sorry for the answer, but that's just something we'll have to find out ourselves." Kouta said in a meager tone as he began to walk into the brush, already hacking away at leaves and bushes and branches as the others began to follow in line.

It was only morning, and yet the sun was already beating down on the five unlucky ones as they continued to march through the forest, trying to keep in line as Kouta continued leading the way. As Mayu and Nana continued carrying Nyuu, neither of them noticed the faint moan of pain to escape the red-haired Dicloni's pale lips as her face slightly clenched in pain. Mayu was the first to notice this, as she had the end of the gurney with Nyuu's face closest to her. "Um…K-Kouta, I think Nyuu's coming to, but I think she's really in pain." She exclaimed to the boy worriedly. "Maybe she needs water." Nana added tiredly, seeing as they all needed it too. "I'm sorry, girls, but we don't have any water with us. Hopefully we'll find a river or something to get this heat off." Yuka responded, exhausted as the glared daggers at Kouta from behind. He could feel the icy glare and tried his best to ignore it, but to no avail. For some reason, he was easily freaked out whenever he got an angry look from Yuka. He couldn't explain it, but that's just the way it was.

"Don't worry guys. I'm sure there's water nearby, otherwise there wouldn't be so much plant life here. It's common biology." He yelled back to them, trying to sound as optimistic as the heat would allow. Before he could stop himself, his feet suddenly planted on air, and he found himself stumbling out of the bushes, down a dusty dirt slope, and into the ice cold embrace of water. He brought himself back up to see the others looking down at him, Nana trying to suppress a giggle as Kouta looked around and saw himself waist deep in a small lake. It wasn't big enough to really be considered one, but dammit, they didn't care right now. Once the others were able to find a safe place to lay Nyuu down from the glare of the sun, they all gathered and began to swim like there wasn't a tomorrow to be had. "Kouta, you said there was water nearby and here's water!" Nana exclaimed excitedly looking at him with what looked like adoration. "Are you magic?" she asked amazed. He simply sweat dropped and shook his head in denial. "No, Nana. He just got lucky for once." Mayu told her friend, laughing as they both ran away into a collapsing pile on the water.

Yuka cupped her hands and tried to see if the water was safe to drink. Luckily it was, and so without hesitation, she quickly brought as much as she could to the unconscious Nyuu, trying to get her lips to part even a little so she could drink. After a little effort, she was finally getting her to do it, and that was finally one problem solved. After several more minutes of regenerating his exhausted body with this godsend, Kouta covered his eyes from the sun and actually noticed something on the horizon. "Hey, guys, there's a house out there!" he shouted in excitement as he ran out of the water onto the rise of dry land and the others followed suit. As they followed his pointing finger, they too noticed the large shape at the end of the grassy plain ahead of them. "Maybe somebody lives there. We could be able to use their phone, call a tow truck, and we'll finally be home free." Kouta said in relief. "But we can't start walking again. It was hot enough in the woods. That house is really far, and who knows how long it'll take to get there." Yuka complained tiredly. This time, instead of obliging her needs, Kouta glared at her with a raised eyebrow. "Yuka, this is seriously the worst excuse I've heard to not move. If you and the others don't want to go, you can all stay here. There's some berry bushes over there for food, and then there's water. I'm gonna go there, and I'll come back if there's anybody there and if I was able to get a tow truck to get us." He told them as they all slowly receded back into the shade of this little Eden of theirs. "Promise you'll come back soon?" Mayu asked him worriedly. "Don't worry. I'll be alright." He told them as he waved them goodbye and began to walk across this overgrown field to that large monolith on the horizon.

After a surprisingly long ten minutes of walking, Kouta was finally at the front of this house. At first he was beginning to get discouraged when he saw there were cars overgrown with weeds and rust littering the front and backyard, but he was relieved to hear what sounded like small footsteps inside. He had seen his share of bad cases of littering before, but nothing like this. There was glass jars filled with god knows what littering the grass and pieces of junk and ancient boxes that didn't look like they were ever opened inside large carrying beds like on an eighteen-wheeler. "Hello!?" he shouted into the air, hoping somebody from the house would answer. No such luck. "Is there anybody there?" he asked again, but to still, no response. He figured, he had to get some help for his family and so he began to approach the door. The wood for the deck was ancient. The paint looked several decades old, and the creaking was something awful. He approached the door. The actual door was gone, but all that was there was a rusty, torn old net door for bugs. He tried to look inside but it was dark as hell inside. "Hello?" he asked again, quieter this time. No response. Hoping he wouldn't be thought of as a thief by doing this, he began to slowly open the door, the piercing squeaking sound from the hinges causing him to grit his teeth. He took some time to adjust to the dark. He was beginning to think this house was abandoned and that the footsteps were just some old boards banging against the wall or something.

The entrance room had a gigantic staircase that led high up into the upper reaches of the house. On Kouta's level, there were two doors, one ahead of him, and one to his left on the left wall. The walls looked worn and faded. There were ghostly scraps of wallpaper hanging from the cracks in the wall, drifting in the wind like dust. Inside each doorframe, the view of the next room, he saw what looked like feathers and chicken bones, decorating the nearby walls. Kouta was starting to get rather uncomfortable here. He didn't know why, but something about this place made him feel uneasy. Perhaps it was the absence of the sound of blowing wind, or the nearly death silent folding sounds of the wallpaper scraps. But nevertheless, he had to see if someone here could help him. "Hello?" he asked again, trying to hide the fearful shaking in his voice. "Is there anybody home?" he asked, looking up the stairs. "Hello?" he asked again, almost no quieter than a whisper. The silence was really beginning to get to him.

Suddenly, a noise caught his ear, the sudden making of it, causing Kouta to jump out of his skin. It sounded like the agonizing squeal of a pig, oinking and screeching tiredly, as if beckoning Kouta, daring him to come closer to the door in front of him. Kouta swallowed a gasp as he began to slowly approach the door. It wasn't until an old crotchety, angry voice erupted from behind him, that Kouta finally let out the scream he had been keeping. He nearly tumbled to the floor in a spinning jump, seeing a wrinkled old man in a wheelchair, sitting between Kouta and the door. What really caught Kouta's eye was that this man had no legs. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing in my house!?" the old man shouted as he banged his walking stick against the floor, producing an ear splitting bang. "I-I'm so sorry sir! I didn't mean to trespass, but we need help, you s…!" Kouta tried to answer, but the old man wouldn't let him. With another pounding of his cane on the floor, he shouted: "YOU GODDAMN YOUNGSTERS COMING IN HERE TO FUCK UP MY HOUSE AND STEAL MY SHIT!?" the old man roared with another two poundings of his cane on the floor. Kouta was turning in circles trying to think of what to say, momentarily catching sight of a rusted steel door on the side of the staircase with what looked like a peeking glass on it. "Please sir, my family and I just need help! We need someone to tow…!" he tried explaining, but interrupted by another pounding of the cane. "I'LL GIVE YOU SOMETHIN' TO TOW, BOY!" bang! "I'M GONNA HAVE YOUR GODDAMN CARCASS TOWED, KID!"bang, bang!

With that final bang, Kouta turned at the sound of the rusted metal door sliding open, and he was met with the most terrifying sight he could ever imagine. A gargantuan of a man with a horrid looking face, like a crudely sewn rotting face made of dead skin, and garmented in a blood covered apron, standing in the doorway, armed with a rusted, blood splattered chainsaw, just as he revved it to life. With a blood curdling scream, Kouta took off in a mad sprint to his left, through one of the doorways blindly weaving his way through the cluttered and damaged rooms hearing the faint echo of the old man shouting "GO ON TOMMY, BOY! DON'T LET THAT PUNK GET AWAY!" With a mad leap, Kouta rammed his way through the back door of what looked like a kitchen, and he found himself back in the backyard, pure white sheets on clothes lines sifting in the wind. But that doesn't mean he stopped to see the scenery. He was still running as fast as his legs would carry him, followed closely by the low rumbling of that monster with the chainsaw, miraculously gaining on him. Kouta was screaming till his lungs were in pain as he tried to push his way through the lines of sheets, trying to keep running. Finally, catching sight of a fence leading to the grassland he had come from, Kouta began sprung himself forward in a mad leap, but at the exact same moment, the beast that had been chasing him got close enough to him and recklessly swung the blade of his rumbling weapon at the boy as he began to rise into the air, and unfortunately, he hit his mark. With that accursed timing of the swing, Kouta could feel pain like he had never experienced before in his entire life, burning up his leg and into his stomach, causing a scream and brief period of vomit to spew from his mouth as he collapsed on that monster's side of the fence. He looked to see the giant towering over him, silhouetted in the blinding sun, and when Kouta looked down, he saw a blood splattered sheet, blood on his hands, on his shirt, on his legs, and then finally, he saw that from his right kneecap downward, his right leg was gone. So close to freedom, then he got half his leg sliced off in a heartbeat. Kouta was beginning to lose consciousness, but before the darkness took him, he felt the creature grab him by his collar, lift him up, and then carry him back into the house, with a deafening slamming of the door.

**Well, that's chapter 4. Sorry to all the Kouta fans out there, if there ARE any. Gotta make the story thrilling some way. Anyway, feel free to read and review. Say what you want, it's all reviews to me. Well, see you guys tomorrow. And I've also decided to make a sequel to this story when it's over.**


	5. Jedediah

Welcome To Travis County

**Hi everybody, sorry for the delay. But I'm back with chapter 5. So here it is, and I hope you'll enjoy it, chapter 5 of Welcome To ****Travis****County****. Read and review please.**

"I don't understand it. It couldn't possibly take Kouta this long to make one phone call." Yuka groaned as she and Mayu, Nana, and Nyuu stayed under the shade of an overhanging tree in the small water hole they had found early in the afternoon. But was once an unbearably hot day, was now starting to grow uncomfortably cool, and the sun was starting to set, and if Kouta wasn't back before dark, then Yuka already knew that calming whatever fearful thoughts the others could end up thinking would be next to impossible. "Maybe he got lost, like, sun stroke made him start wandering or something." Mayu suddenly said in a guessing tone. Yuka could do nothing more than just look at the girl skeptically. Even she knew you don't wander off in a lightheaded daze, whether or not if it's from sun stroke.

"Well, I don't know what it was. Maybe he actually had the gull to maybe not just call a repairman. Maybe he actually tried calling our college back home, as if they're gonna wonder where only 2 students went. He can be so…obsessed with unimportant matters, that it just drives me crazy." Yuka grumbled impatiently as she tucked her legs back in before turning to look at Nyuu who was starting to break out in a cold sweat from the looks of it, and was starting to show signs of pain once again. "Yuka, I think the cold is starting to bother Nyuu. We have to find somewhere warm." Nana whispered worriedly when she saw the crimson haired beauty start to shiver and quake underneath the blanket they had brought. Yuka didn't want to admit it, but the pink haired girl was right. This may be Texas, but it was starting to get cold. "Well, I mean, we can't just leave here. What if Kouta comes back and wonders where we are?" she said opposing.

"Well, either we stay here, and Nyuu gets sick as well as hurt, or we find somewhere warm, and one of us can stay here for Kouta once we find a place." Mayu stated, relaying all the options. After thinking it all through, Yuka merely sighed and stood up. "Alright. I have the last flashlight, so I'll lead, you two try and carry her, alright?" Yuka said in a tone that was obviously declaring command. Right when Mayu and Nana were about to nod their approval, the sound of twigs crunching under weight caught Nana's ear. "Wait. Did any of you hear that?" she said in a cautious whisper, motioning for the others to stay silent, listening for it. And, just like they thought, there it was again. It sounded like it was coming from the branch of forest where their shade tree behind them was coming from.

"Oh, God, what the hell is that?" Yuka asked in a shaky whisper as they all started to back away slowly from the trees as the crunching got even closer. Suddenly, in a split second, it occurred to Mayu that whatever was in those bushes could easily grab Nyuu and drag her in because they forgot to bring her back with them. Without a warning, she ran to grab the unconscious girls feet, but was suddenly stopped by a pitch black figure that leaped out of the bushes, tackling the black haired girl to the dirt, the poor girl, as well as the others, screaming in fear. But once Yuka was finally able to click the flashlight on, they were all shocked, then relieved, and confused, to find a young dirty boy about Mayu's age on his hands and legs, looking up at them. "A kid? What're you doing here? What's your name?" Yuka suddenly started asking as the boy started to back away in fear, at the same time Mayu went back to dragging Nyuu back to her friends, equally scared. The boy looked at the three Asian looking strangers, and he looked like he was struggling with words until he finally was able to mumble the words. "…J…J-Jedediah. M-my name is Jedediah." He whispered, not looking any less afraid of them.

After a brief uncomfortable silence, Nana was finally able to speak. "Jedediah, do you have family here? I mean, do you live here?" she asked as gently as she could, hoping that would calm him down. Yuka was personally impressed at that moment. She used to think Nana was just a curious little kid, but this proved that she had her more mature moments. Just like Nana had hoped, Jedediah had stopped shaking and relaxed a little bit more and finally stood up straight. "W-well, I live with my mother, no more than 2 miles this way." He said jerking his thumb in the direction behind him in the forest. The girls were apparently a little cautious about going into those woods at this time, now that it was pure nighttime. "Well, does your mom have a telephone we could use?" Mayu asked in a desperate tone. Jedediah returned their answer with a solitary nod of his head. With a sigh of relief, the girls quickly gathered to pick up Nyuu as Yuka gave the small boy the flashlight. "Alright, strangers. Follow me, and stay close." He said to them in the quietest whisper as they began to file into the dark encroaching woods.

**Ok. I'm sorry this isn't anywhere near as long as other chapters, but I don't wanna go on too long, mainly because it's getting late, but also because it gives me more room for the next chapter where the real horror is gonna be put into play. But anyway, here it is, and I hope you'll enjoy reading it as much as I have writing it. And just for the heck of it, I don't own TTCM or EL. I just own this story.**


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